Good performance form City against Arsenal, I just watched the game and it could be even bigger result for Man CIty, Arsenal just could not do anything in attack especially in the second half. Solid performance from Man U also, I have watched second half of the match and it was pretty one sided, too bad Nemanja Vidic got injured again.

Barcelona reached the mid-way point of the Liga season unbeaten this evening, as the club took advantage of some defensive mishaps to secure a 3-1 victory over Malaga at La Rosaleda.

Lionel Messi opened the scoring with a well-taken goal in the first half, before a crisp finish from Cesc Fabregas and a well-worked goal from Thiago after the break secured all three points, but not before Diego Buonanotte scored a superb late consolation goal for Malaga.

Barcelona welcomed coach Tito Vilanova back to the dugout after he missed Thursday's thumping Copa del Rey win over Cordoba due to a medical appointment in New York, and he was nearly celebrating a goal after just seven minutes.

A brilliant piece of goalkeeping from Willy Caballero stopped Messi from giving Barcelona the lead, after Welligton gifted the Argentine a shooting opportunity by not controlling the ball inside his own penalty area. Caballero reached out to push the ball away from Messi with his left arm, just as the attacker appeared set to round him and shoot into an empty net.

Twenty minutes later, however, Caballero was unable to repair another teammate's mistake. Ignacio Camacho's back pass to the goalkeeper was far too weak, which allowed Messi to seize the ball ahead of Caballero, cut back on to his right foot and then slid a finish into the bottom right corner to make it 1-0 to Barcelona.

After starting the game brightly Malaga looked stunned by Barcelona's goal and could easily have gone two behind just minutes after Messi's opportunistic opener. Fabregas was the man who came close, as his sweeping effort drifted just wide of the right post with Caballero beaten.

Malaga's best chance of the half fell to Roque Santa Cruz, but he could only direct a header straight at Victor Valdes after connecting with Joaquin's whipped free kick from the left.

Shortly after the break Barcelona fashioned some breathing space and Fabregas made it 2-0. The former Arsenal man evaded the attentions of stand-in right back Sergio Sanchez on the left to latch on to a mesmerizing through ball from Messi and clip a fine shot past Caballero.

The away side never looked like letting the lead slip after the second goal, as on the rare occasions that los Boquerones did steal the ball from Barcelona's midfield they were then thwarted in the attacking third by some robust defending from Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano.

In the 82nd minute Thiago got in on the goalscoring act to make it 3-0 by finishing off a well-worked team goal. The Spanish midfielder exchanged passes neatly with Dani Alves on the edge of the Malaga box before hammering a low shot into the bottom left corner.

However there was still time for Malaga substitute Diego Buonanotte to ensure he had something to remember from the game in the final minute of normal time, as he curled a delicious free kick past Victor Valdes from 20 yards to make it 3-1.

Just two days separate this fixture and the two side's next meeting, with the Blaugrana playing host to Malaga at Camp Nou on Jan. 15 for the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal. Follow GOAL.COM on Twitter

Updated Jan 16, 2013 3:04 PM ET MEMORY LANELook back at Josep Guardiola's reign as manager of FC Barcelona. Pep Guardiola, who led Barcelona to 14 titles over four seasons and turned the Spanish club into arguably the best team in the world, has agreed to become the coach of Bayern Munich starting next season.

Bayern announced the deal Wednesday, after a meeting of the top management.Earlier in the day, Jupp Heynckes told Bayern he wanted to end his coaching career when his contract expires at the end of the season.Rumors of Guardiola coming to the German powerhouse have been swirling around local media for weeks and Bayern made it official just a day after Guardiola expressed his desire to manage in England at some point.Guardiola stepped down at the end of last season and is on a one-year sabbatical.Under his guidance, Barcelona dominated Spanish and European competitions with its passing game and frequent scoring from standout Lionel Messi.

Good choice this.. Pep likes a club with history, passion and organization. Bayern have a good crop of players - youth along with experience. They are well-run and a global football powerhouse. Jupp Heynckes will leave Bayern, at least, as Bundesliga champions.. Guardiola will have his work cut out, having never played in Germany, or managed outside Barcelona..Still, if Bayern wanted to bet on a a young manager, why not someone with pedigree as a player and success as a manager.. From FCB to FCB. Best of luck, Pep!

UEFA has fined Ajax € 10,000 after their supporters displayed banner against modern football.

During their Champions League match at home to Manchester City in October, Ajax fans unveiled a banner with the motto "Against Modern Football", beneath a cartoon of a sheik holding a bag embossed with a dollar sign, the image presented as a stop sign with a red line through it. It was clearly banner about the effects of mega-money in football.

Another slogan read "€80 for the away section is ridiculous" (Ajax fans showed empathy with City supporters).

Uefa's official stance was that the Dutch club was fined for "display of a provocative and inappropriate banner"

Benitez seems like a good coach, in a very tough job - he is a temporary manager, at a club with high expectations, filled with star players; not all of whom are pulling their weight.. Abramovich freezing out Lampard seems counter-productive to me.. I know Lamps is not exactly best-in-class, but he is a much-decorated veteran..

Benitez seems like a good coach, in a very tough job - he is a temporary manager, at a club with high expectations, filled with star players; not all of whom are pulling their weight.. Abramovich freezing out Lampard seems counter-productive to me.. I know Lamps is not exactly best-in-class, but he is a much-decorated veteran..

Yes he is good, but if fails to bring some trophy or to be competitive in premiership with City and United I doubt that Abramovich will have any patience, and also I think he will probably aim to bring Mourinho back at the end of the season.